Mark Dice

Mark Dice (born Mark Shouldice;[1] December 21, 1977) is an American conspiracy theorist, activist, author, and right-wing conservative pundit, who has been active since at least 2008.

Mark Dice
Dice in 2011
Born (1977-12-21) December 21, 1977
Known forYouTube videos, promoting conspiracy theories
Political partyRepublican

Personal life

Dice was born on December 21, 1977,[2] and is a member of the Republican Party.[3] As of July 2019, he resided in Pacific Beach, San Diego.[4]

Conspiracy theorist

Claiming a life-long interest in "current events, politics and how the world works",[5] Dice is a right-wing, conservative conspiracy theorist[6][7] who has provided the media with his input on a broad array of topics.

In June 2008, Dice launched "Operation Inform the Soldiers", an effort to send DVDs, letters, and declassified government documents to U.S. service members in Iraq. Dice hoped these would prove 9/11 conspiracy theories and cause the recipients to "rethink why they’re fighting."[8] On June 10, syndicated talk show host Michael Reagan advocated on-air that Dice should be assassinated for having done so. Six days later, Reagan hosted Dice on his show and apologized for his comments.[9]

Dice promoted the Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theories, claiming that the 2015 military exercises were preparation for a declaration of martial law in the United States.[10]

The Resistance

Dice is the founder of a San Diegan Christian activist group called "The Resistance", described as "known for its hardline stance on morality". In 2008, in response to Starbucks' reintroduction of its original logo (featuring a topless siren), Dice led his group and its 3,000 members in boycotting the coffee chain: "The Starbucks logo has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute […] It's extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks." Starbucks had more than 6,000 locations in 2008.[11]

As the founder of The Resistance, Dice told KFSN-TV of his group's intention to disrupt theater showings of 2009's Angels & Demons because the film "is a fraud, aimed at covering up the existence of a secret society called the Illuminati." Dice contended that the Illuminati were instrumental in the September 11 attacks and the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[12]

Illuminati

Conflating celebrities with the Illuminati and Satanism, Dice called musicians Jay-Z and Beyoncé "Illuminati puppets. I call them Satanic skanks". Dice described celebrities' connection to the Illuminati as the pursuit of power via message of materialism.[13]

Dice called Super Bowl halftime shows of the 2010s "elaborate Illuminati rituals hidden in plain sight". The Super Bowl XLVI and XLVII halftime shows allegedly featured "secret Illuminati hand signs", while musician Katy Perry—star of the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show—"promotes bisexuality and appears to be some kind of Satanic Witch".[14] Dice published a YouTube video denouncing the Super Bowl 50 halftime show as "gay Pride propaganda". Dice noted the show featured the rainbow-colored message "believe in love" and a platform with four ramps which Dice described as a "crucifix blasphemously placed in the centre."[15]

Punditry

Regarding the unrest after the 2016 shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, Dice decried the "black thugs who are rioting over this black thug."[16] After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, Dice tweeted a distortion of the events: "Someone tell Generation Z kids that in the event of a school shooting, they should call 911 instead of posting video of it on Snapchat." Student survivors, including Sarah Chadwick, pushed back against Dice's claims; Dice deleted the post and did not respond to media inquiries thereabout.[17]

When the Podesta emails were leaked, Dice noted an email from Marina Abramović to Tony Podesta and conflated the former's spiritualism with Satanism, tweeting, "I am now accepting apologies from everyone who said I was crazy for writing books about how the Establishment are Satanists".[3]

In late 2016, Dice organized an unsuccessful boycott of Rogue One, a Star Wars film he called "feminist propaganda".[18] He followed this up with misgendering the seven-member South Korean boy band BTS after their performance at the American Music Awards of 2017; Dice called them lesbians and made derogatory comments about the quality of their music. After attracting the ire of BTS fans, Dice "trolled" them further, though Teen Vogue reported that the BTS fans' "positive energy and love definitely outweighs derogatory insults and hate."[19]

In August 2018, after controversial tweets by Sarah Jeong were published, Dice called her continued employment at The New York Times an "example […] of liberal hypocrisy".[20]

Publishing

Books
Bibliography
Year Title Citation(s)
2005 The Resistance Manifesto [21][5]
2009 Illuminati: Facts and Fiction [5]
The Illuminati in Hollywood [22]
2013 Illuminati in the Music Industry [23]
2019 The Liberal Media Industrial Complex [24]

After having written The Resistance Manifesto in 2005,[21] in which the Illuminati played a minor role, Dice devoted his entire next book—2009's Illuminati: Facts and Fiction—to the secret society.[5] His book, The Illuminati in Hollywood, explains Dice's belief that liberalism is promoted by films and television,[22] while his 2013 self-published book Illuminati in the Music Industry alleges Rick Ross and Christina Aguilera's membership in the group.[23] In November 2019, Dice self-published The Liberal Media Industrial Complex about social media, its political influence, and the "massive backslash from those wanting to regain the influence they once held."[24]

Videos

In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter described Dice as "best known for his YouTube videos" and a "rising online media star who considers himself mainstream conservative but is being called alt-right by his detractors."[22] Inspired by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno sketch "Jaywalking",[25] Dice records videos in crowded locations where he asks passers-by to answer simple questions or to sign petitions.[22] Dice formulated one such petition in 2013 to repeal the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; by invoking the suggestion of supporting President Obama, Dice found people in Southern California willing to sign.[25] Dice's on-screen persona was described by a fan in The New York Times as a "goon".[10]

In November 2019, KUSI-TV averaged Dice's daily videos as having 250,000 views and enumerated his YouTube subscribers at "more than 1.5 million".[24]

References
  1. Zagami, Leo Lyon (April 26, 2019). Confessions of an Illuminati, VOLUME I (2nd edition): The Whole Truth About the Illuminati and the New World Order. CCC Publishing. ISBN 978-1-888729-58-0.
  2. Dice, Mark. "Mark Dice - About". Facebook. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  3. Lee, Benjamin (November 4, 2016). "Marina Abramović mention in Podesta emails sparks accusations of satanism". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 1756-3224. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019. An email from the artist forwarded by Clinton’s campaign chief has been seized on by the right as proof that the Democratic candidate has links with the occult
  4. McKinnon III, Mike (July 19, 2019). "Youtuber Mark Dice on the censorship of conservatives on big tech platforms". San Diego: KUSI-TV. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  5. Hinton, Carla (May 9, 2009). "Book 'Angels and Demons' aims to shed light on Illuminati". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  6. Lee, Newton (October 23, 2016). "The Transhumanist Platform and Interview with 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidate Zoltan Istvan". In Lee, Newton (ed.). Google It: Total Information Awareness (illustrated ed.). New York City: Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 517–526. ISBN 978-1-4939-6413-0. LCCN 2016946312.
  7. Bell, Chris (July 6, 2017). "Trump gif maker apologises for racist posts". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019. The Reddit user who created the CNN wrestling gif adapted and shared by President Donald Trump has apologised for racist and anti-Semitic comments.
  8. "Group Plans to Send Letters to Troops in Iraq on How U.S. Government Planned 9/11". Fox News. June 10, 2008. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  9. "Talk Show Host Calls for Murder". Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  10. Tavernise, Sabrina (December 6, 2016). "As Fake News Spreads Lies, More Readers Shrug at the Truth". The New York Times. Ham Lake, Minnesota: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  11. Simpson, Aislinn (May 15, 2008). "Starbucks faces boycott over 'vulgar' logo". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019. Starbucks is facing a boycott from a group of Christian activists in America who claim the coffee chain's new logo is vulgar.
  12. Sykes, Leslie (May 17, 2009). "Angels & Demons Causing Serious Controversy". KFSN-TV. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  13. D'Addario, Daniel (January 24, 2013). "The music world's fake Illuminati". Salon. OCLC 43916723. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019. Pop stars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna have figured out how to set the Internet abuzz with Illuminati symbolism
  14. Baxter, Kevin (January 26, 2015). "NFL's latest conspiracy? It's Katy Perry". Los Angeles Times. Austin Beutner. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  15. Porter, Ryan (February 9, 2016). "Conspiracy theories find hidden pop culture agendas". Toronto Star. John Cruickshank. ISSN 0319-0781. OCLC 137342540. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  16. Mirzoeff, Nicholas (September 23, 2016). "How the Jim Crow internet is pushing back against Black Lives Matter". The Conversation. ISSN 2201-5639. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  17. Shamsian, Jacob (February 15, 2018). "A teen Florida school shooting survivor is raging against critics who blame the students for how they dealt with the situation". Insider. Insider Inc. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  18. Peyser, Eve (December 18, 2016). "#DumpStarWars Crybabies Struggle to Save Face After Blockbuster Rogue One Opening". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  19. Elizabeth, De (November 25, 2017). "BTS Fans Respond to YouTuber Who Insulted Their AMAs Performance". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. ISSN 1540-2215. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  20. Rosenberg, Eli; Logan, Erin B. (August 3, 2018). "An Asian American woman's tweets ignite a debate: Is it okay to make fun of white people online?". The Washington Post. Fred Ryan. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  21. Dice, Mark (2008). The Resistance Manifesto. San Diego: The Resistance. ISBN 0-9673466-4-9.
  22. Bond, Paul (November 8, 2016). "How Alt-Right Stars Are Planning for Their Post-Election Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Lynne Segall. ISSN 0018-3660. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019. 'This is a victory for every American who has been wrongly smeared as racist, sexist or homophobic by the scolds and nannies of the progressive left,' Yiannopoulos said after Donald Trump prevailed on election day.
  23. Paulas, Rick (November 24, 2014). "This Guy Thinks Danny DeVito Is the Antichrist". Vice. ISSN 1077-6788. OCLC 30856250. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019. William Tapley, self-proclaimed 'Third Eagle of the Apocalypse' and 'Co-Prophet of the End Times,' thinks the guy who played the Penguin is going to bring about the Apocalypse.
  24. "Media Analyst & Author Mark Dice on new book 'The Liberal Media Industrial Complex'". San Diego: KUSI-TV. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  25. "People Signing Away Rights to 'Support Obama'? Yep". Fox News Channel. April 17, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2019. Media critic Mark Dice told Brian Kilmeade this morning that he started the fake petitions as a social experiment.
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